The ancient Mayans believed that the world would end in the year 2012. Strangely enough, seers and sorcerers of several other ages and cultures have also focused their predictions of doom on that same year. As a result, there is now a motion picture called "2012" depicting the cataclysmic end of human civilization in that year. ...more

November 1, 2009

The now-cliche notion about everyone getting 15 minutes of fame has been around since artist Andy Warhol suggested it in 1968. So it may be worth a reminder that it isn't a rule or anything - and a moment in the spotlight is still an exciting thing to experience. ...more

March 8, 2009

The now-cliche notion about everyone getting 15 minutes of fame has been around since artist Andy Warhol suggested it in 1968. So it may be worth a reminder that it isn't a rule - and a moment in the spotlight is still an exciting thing to experience. ...more

March 7, 2009

The now-cliche notion about everyone getting 15 minutes of fame has been around since artist Andy Warhol suggested it in 1968. So it may be worth a reminder that it isn't a rule or anything - and a moment in the spotlight is still an exciting thing to experience. ...more

March 7, 2009

I've just lived through one of the most frustrating weeks of my life. It felt like I spent the entire seven days doing just one thing – waiting. I hate waiting. I waited for phone calls that never came, for mail that didn't arrive, and for a repairman who never showed. I waited in the doctor's office and the post office and the coffee shop. I waited in a checkout line so long I finally had to give up and go back to work without my0 lunch. On the job, it seemed every assignment I tackled could not be completed without waiting for someone else to do his part first, which, of course, he (or she) never did. I sent polite e-mail reminders, and waited some more. I made phone calls and was put on hold. Several times I waited till the phone grew permanently attached to my ear, only to be told he'd call me back. But he didn't. ...more

February 15, 2009

A vendor in Calcutta, India, rearranges demon heads made of earthen clay at his stall Sunday prior to worship of the Hindu goddess Kali. Hindu devotees offer demon heads to Kali wishing fulfillment of their prayers. Kali, who traditionally is associated with death and destruction as well as with time and change, is worshiped in some parts of India during Diwali or Deepavali, the festival of lights that falls on Tuesday. ...more

October 27, 2008

The Department of Homeland Security will take responsibility from airlines for checking passenger names against watch lists beginning in January and will require all commercial passengers for the first time to provide their full name, date of birth and gender as a condition of boarding a flight, U.S. officials said Wednesday. ...more

October 23, 2008

You can make all the money anyone could imagine and have a life most anyone could envy. Stu Sternberg has those things. But this is something special even by those standards. ...more

October 11, 2008

The youngest of my three children will graduate from college in two days. It is the fulfillment of a dream for him, and a step toward what I know will be a bright future. I'm happy, and proud, and … sad. Yes, sad, because this is a huge sea change in my life. ...more

December 16, 2007

A few days ago, I re-watched one of my all-time favorite movies, "Pretty Woman." Though I've seen it umpteen times it still makes me laugh and cry and feel good all over. For me, it is the ultimate chick-flick. But "Pretty Woman" isn't just another love story. Yes, Julia Roberts and Richard Gere are magic together, and the story is laugh-out-loud funny, but there's much more to it than that. This movie has stayed popular for more than a decade because it's a story of how love transforms the people who share it. Vivian, a streetwalker with no future, meets Edward, a lonely, heartless business tycoon. To keep from getting hurt, both of them have closed their hearts to the people around them. When they fall in love, they learn that love is worth it, even if you get hurt. Vivian finds that in being loved, and returning that love, she feels validated as a person. She's suddenly aware that she is worthy of respect, including self-respect. ...more

December 9, 2007